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Apple faces backlash on tiered iTunes prices

Apple has introduced tiered pricing to the iTunes store, but now faces backlash from the internet community.

Apple has been trialling tiered pricing since January, adding $0.69 and $1.29 price-points to its standard $0.99 sale price.

The move comes after years of lobbying by music labels to price new releases or more popular songs at a higher rate.

In a move to quell consumer backlash, Apple has offered ten songs at a discount for every song offered at a higher price.

Record labels involved in the negotiations say the new pricing will help them create new revenue models, such as bundled packages of a song and its video clip.

But gadget blogs have nevertheless reacted with disdain for the new pricing structure, with Gizmodo labeling the new regime "'popular songs cost more money' pricing."

Lifehacker saidfinding songs priced at $0.69 was like "a really boring scavenger hunt where the reward is an extremely crappy song," and encouraged its readers to explore alternatives such as Amazon's MP3 store.

Commenters on both sites also reacted negatively to the news.

As Amazon's store is currently only available in the US, the UK and Germany, disgruntled customers do seek alternatives, the move may also be a boon to Nokia's Comes With Music service.